Somewhere In My Memory
by Foibles and Fables
Summary: Christmases haven't always treated Mark Sloan very well, but this one could be different. Lexie/Mark


**Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy is the property of Shonda Rhimes and ABC. This writing is for entertainment purposes only and is not for profit.**

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_It looks just like a Christmas card out there,_ Mark Sloan noticed, glancing out of Seattle Grace's main waiting room. The huge glass windows showed a picturesque snowfall, flakes floating serenely through the cold and dark December air.

He wasn't a Christmas kind of guy. He didn't do the touchy-feely thing, unless it was the literal "touchy-feely" thing. Still, even he had to admit that it looked absolutely beautiful outside.

He zipped his leather bomber jacket and shoved his hands into his pockets, preparing to step out into the winter wonderland. Next stop, the Archfield. His Christmas Eve plans included going back to his hotel room, ordering a particularly expensive bottle of champagne, and falling asleep to twenty-four hours of _A Christmas Story._ Its repetitive nature would put him out in no time.

Anything would be better than last Christmas. Addison had just recently gone to Seattle, leaving him completely and utterly alone in New York. So, he went to a bar, got completely plastered and took home a one-night stand. He didn't even know her name.

_Silent night, holy night._

The Ghosts of Christmas Past leaving a bad taste in his mouth, Mark frowned and headed for the main exit.

He probably would have gotten through it, too, if he hadn't seen her sitting there. She was alone in a vacant row of chairs, facing the window.

Lexie Grey sat hunched in that slightly uncomfortable chair, elbows resting on knees and chin resting in hands. She had changed out of her scrubs into a sweater and pea coat, but obviously hadn't left yet. But what really caught Mark's eye was her face. She was staring dejectedly out into the snow squall, soft features overtaken by a melancholic expression. She looked either extremely sad, lost in thought, or a combination of both.

Against his better judgment, he stopped in his tracks and swaggered toward her. After that first time she had visited his hotel room a few weeks ago, the two of them had made time for a few more clandestine meetings. Never at the hospital, of course; that would basically be asking to be caught. Derek would probably kick his ass, and Meredith would definitely have her man's back. Needless to say he and Lexie hadn't been together much, but enough for him to be mildly concerned when she was wearing the "somebody killed my puppy" look.

"What's wrong, Little Grey? Did you miss your reindeer home?" he joked as he approached her, hoping to at least lighten her mood.

"Oh, Dr. Sloan." She snapped out of her trance with a stammer and blushed deeply, quickly wiping what might have been a tear away from her cheek. "I…I didn't hear you coming," she said, fumbling with the words. Mark smirked. Sometimes she acted as if he hadn't seen her naked. On purpose. More than once. And liked it.

Mark took a seat next to her, tilting his head, starting into her conspicuously red-rimmed eyes with his ice blue ones. He pursed his lips. "It's nine o'clock on Christmas Eve. What are you still doing here?"

Lexie looked at her shoes and took a deep breath. "I…I don't know." Her voice gave the tiniest bit of a quiver. She paused for a long time. "I guess I have nowhere to go, really," she explained quietly, closing her eyes and sighing.

Mark opened his mouth to comment, but apparently he had just opened some floodgate inside of Lexie. She started to speak again, her voice squeaking every so often, "George will be at Meredith's so if I go to the apartment I'll be alone, and even if George is there I still can't face him. Plus I haven't been there in a really long time, so there are no gingerbread feelings there." She showed no signs of stopping. "My dad, well we just aren't going to go into that, and Molly is spending Christmas with Eric's family so-"

"Wait, who's Molly?" Mark interrupted, furrowing his eyebrows, having trouble keeping up with her tirade.

"My little sister, yes, there's another Grey," Lexie explained curtly. Suddenly, overcome by emotion, she gave a too-loud dry sob that caused Mark to jump a bit in his seat. She coughed and kept talking, unable to hold her tongue. "And this is the first Christmas since my mom died and it's just been really hard because everything is so _new_ and I've been trying to hard at work and with George and Meredith and all of the rest of the crap in my life," she blubbered, words choppy with sobs, gasps, and stutters. She buried her face in her hands and shuddered violently.

Mark, generally not good with the crying thing, had no idea what to do when she broke down into quiet tears. Not wanting anyone to notice, he awkwardly rested one hand on her shaking shoulder and the other on her waist. She made tiny strangled noises, trying to stop her tears very quickly. After a moment, she managed to quiet herself with a deep breath.

"And great, now I'm basically bawling my eyes out in front of the guy I'm having secret sex with," she sniffed, laughing bitterly at herself. "I'll bet you never thought you were getting involved with such a mess." She smiled weakly at him – it didn't reach her eyes – as she tucked a loose bit of dark hair behind her ear and wiped her cheek on her sleeve.

"You're not a mess," Mark whispered in what he hoped was a comforting way, squeezing her shoulder gently before removing his hands. "Isn't there anywhere I can take you?" he asked quietly before adding, "Nobody should be alone on Christmas." Right after he said it, it hit him that those words rang true for himself as well.

Lexie hesitated, wringing her hands. "Well…Meredith did invite me to her house and I wouldn't mind going, but I'm ninety-five percent sure that she asked out of pity or obligation. Plus, I'm hopelessly awkward around them so it just wouldn't be a pleasant experience." She sighed, defeated again. "Unless…" Lexie bit her lip nervously. "You were to come too?" she said, phrasing it like a question.

Dumbstruck, Mark searched for an answer. If he went, it probably wouldn't end well. "I don't think that would work," he finally replied. "I mean, what happened to keeping this quiet? What will they think?"

Lexie's cheeks began to burn once again, the pink of her cheeks rejuvenating her face a small bit. "Not, like, together," she said quickly, the words coming out conjoined to one another. "It's just…I don't know why, but I think you being there would make me feel better," she said, weighing each word carefully. "You…you just make me feel a bit less awkward, a bit more like I belong there." She turned away from him, embarrassed. "It's silly, I know."

Now it was Mark's turn to sigh. Derek had mentioned the get-together to him in passing. Mark could consider that an invitation. If he and Lexie showed up separately, nobody could possibly guess at anything. He didn't want her to be alone that night, and frankly, he really didn't want to be either.

Lexie grimaced, waiting in an excruciatingly painful combination of hope and humiliation for his reply.

"If it'll make you feel better, Lexie, I think we can do that." Mark said, flashing a pearly-white smile.

"Thank you so much," Lexie said in barely a whisper, still conveying a world of relief. Slowly, she got to her feet, Mark following suit.

He led her out the door, his hand pressed discreetly to the small of her back. "Let's go, Kevin McCallister," he chuckled, grinning as they stepped into the whirling snow, the bitterly cold air biting at their cheeks and noses.

Lexie giggled and flashed him a smile; a real one, this time, one that crinkled the corners of her dark eyes.

He looked at her, watching the wind blow her dark hair _just so_ across her porcelain face. It was something about her thankful smile, something that told him that this Christmas would be better than the last.

Somehow, he knew that there would be no ghosts from Christmas Present to haunt him.


End file.
